Aftermath
by smilelikey0umeanit
Summary: Set immediately after the series six finale, Meat is Murder- what happened after Sandra's revelation, and how did the team react?


**_A/N: This is set immediately after the final episode of series six, 'Meat is Murder' so obviously it contains spoilers. Feel free to review :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own New Tricks._**

Aftermath

"He's my brother."

The three men merely looked on in stunned silence as she repeated the simple statement that was clearly the cause of her tears. They were shocked, not only by the revelation that her father's deceit had reached to a wider extent than any of them had known, but mainly by the sight of their boss. Their Sandra. She was perched on the edge of the dark leather sofa, tears now running freely down her ashen features, leaving shiny streaks which contrasted with the redness encircling her eyes. Her gaze was firmly fixed on the floor, and her shoulders hunched over as they shuddered with the sobs that she was desperately attempting to suppress, giving her the look of a vulnerable child.

They looked at each other nervously, uncertain of what to do next. Tom was still crying in the arms of his adoptive mother; he would have to be arrested and taken in for questioning, but he would escape lightly in the eyes of the law. Jack, as the official deputy of the team, took charge of the situation.

"Right, Brian will ring for a car to take you to the station, Tom. We're going to have to arrest you, although I can't do it personally, so we'll have to wait for uniform to arrive. Sit down," he gestured to the sofa, guiding the sobbing man and his mother to take a seat.

Gerry, meanwhile, had noticed a disparity between the fact that Tom was being held by Julia and Sandra was crying alone. He had moved over to sit with her, his left arm wrapped tightly around her and the other stroking her hand reassuringly.

"I'll do it," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Do what?" Gerry asked quietly.

"Arrest him," she replied, suddenly seeming to recover a little as she wiped away her tears, releasing herself from his hold. "It's my case, I should do it."

"Sandra, you're in no state-"

"Please." She said firmly, her voice regaining some of its power.

Jack nodded slightly, holding up his hands to prevent an argument ensuing as Brian re-entered the room, having called for officers to escort Tom to the station.

"They won't be long," he muttered, assuming a position beside an oak cabinet in the corner of the large living room.

She took a deep breath as she stared her brother in the eyes, preparing to make his arrest. Fresh tears fell down her cheeks as she commenced. "Thomas Eldridge, I am arresting you for the murder of Harry Eldridge. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

* * *

The drive to Sandra's house had been conducted in silence. Gerry had driven her, in her blue convertible, and Jack and Brian had followed after ensuring that Tom was in the custody of two uniformed officers. He'd expected her to protest that she was fit to drive, but she had readily handed him the keys. As they had pulled up at various sets of traffic lights throughout the journey, he had tried to offer her some words of comfort, but she had kept up her vacant stare out of the passenger window, not even bothering to smirk as she usually would when he stalled the modern and unfamiliar vehicle.

"Come on," he said softly as he turned off the engine, having parked the car in her drive. "Let's get you a drink, eh?"

"Will you just leave me alone?" she asked sharply, before sighing with regret at her tone. "Please?"

He simply shook his head. "No. I can't. Besides, I need a lift off Jack, my car's at the nick."

She rolled her eyes wearily, leaning to retrieve her black leather handbag from the footwell before exiting the car, closing the door softly behind her. He followed her up the stone stairs to her house, worried about the state she was in. He'd be less concerned if she was crying, shouting, slamming doors, as she had done two years ago when she had first discovered the truth about the circumstances surrounding her father's death. He wouldn't even mind if she took her emotions out on him, but the tears had ceased before they had left the Eldridge's, and she seemed strangely calm, as though she wasn't surprised. Just disappointed.

Her house felt cold, having been uninhabited since early that morning. The day had been cool, typical of the British winter, and the stark white walls only exacerbated the hostile feel. He located the panel for her central heating in the hallway, turning it on before moving into the kitchen to get her the promised drink.

"Jack'll probably kill me, but you need this," he said a few minutes later, as he handed her a shot of vodka, the clear liquid being the only form of alcohol he could source in her cupboards, or at least the only one that was strong enough to provide her with some form of relief from her turmoil. He only hoped that she drunk it before Jack arrived, uncomfortable memories resurfacing of the last time she had been left alone with a bottle of vodka in the aftermath of discovering the truth about her father. It had been difficult for them to witness her go through that, but he could already tell that this time she was dealing with it better, almost as though she had grown used to the shock. Although she was very still, and unnervingly quiet.

She downed the drink in one gulp and gently placed the glass on the coffee table, before settling back into her position on the sofa, her legs tightly tucked under her and her head resting on her fist. He sat down beside her, not quite knowing what to say. He never had been good at this kind of thing. Slowly, so he didn't surprise her, he placed his hand on her leg, just above her knee. She didn't even look at him. The sound of a car pulling up outside disturbed his thoughts, and selfishly, he almost felt relieved that he wouldn't be the one to have to watch her self-destruct before him. Jack would deal with her. Soon enough, the two men entered the room, wordlessly at first as they looked to him for an indication of how she was. He merely shrugged.

"Sandra?" Jack asked, pausing when she didn't respond. "I'm going to set the shower running for you, alright? And Gerry's going to make you something to eat for when you get out."

She snorted ironically. "Good luck with that."

* * *

She hadn't been joking when she hinted that she didn't have any food in. All he'd managed to throw together was some pasta in a tomato sauce. He doubted that she would eat it anyway; one of the classic features of her self-destruct mode was barely eating. Nonetheless, as he heard the whir of the hairdryer start from upstairs, he emerged from the kitchen with a steaming bowl of pasta, placing it on the coffee table.

"Sorry lads, I was going to make you something as well but she's hardly got anything in," he apologised, resuming his position on the sofa, this time next to Jack. Brian was sat in an armchair to their left, thumbing through a book that he clearly wasn't reading properly.

"It's alright, I'm not really hungry," the eldest man sighed.

"Me neither," added Brian, placing the book down and rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.

"I just can't believe it. I mean, what's the likelihood of her brother being a suspect in one of our cases?"

"About seven hundred thousand to one, based on-"

"It was a rhetorical question, mate. But a very slim chance."

"Hmm," Jack mused. Even without Sandra in the room, the atmosphere was charged, the three men subsumed by their anger towards Gordon. How could he do that to Sandra, his own daughter? They'd all known that he was far from the perfect father that Sandra had thought him, they'd all heard the rumours of his infidelity and they'd all lied to her, just to protect her from it. As had her mother. God, she would have to tell Grace. He put his head in his hands. Or would she tell her? Would it be better for her to never know? There were so many decisions for her to make, decisions that she wouldn't have had to make if her stupid father hadn't led this double life.

"If he was still alive I'd kill him," Gerry announced suddenly, both of the other men knowing exactly who he meant and mentally vowing that they would do exactly the same. A heavy silence fell over the room again as they each listened to the steady sound of the hairdryer, waiting for it to stop and Sandra to return.

"I think she's coping better than last time, though," Brian said, perceptively.

"So do I," agreed Gerry, nodding. Out of all this, he was clinging on to one thing, one thing that he knew for certain- Sandra was strong. Stronger than all of them together, even. She would get through this. She had done it before, and she could do it again, with or without their help.

"I suppose it's a bit easier this time, but she's got a lot of thinking to do," Jack said as the hairdryer clicked off and footsteps began to descend down the stairs. They all glanced at each other nervously as the door opened and she emerged. She looked much better than she had done just twenty minutes previously- although she wasn't wearing any make-up, the redness around her eyes had eased slightly and she seemed generally brighter, although her stance as she stood in the doorway, dressed in plain black loungewear, was still dejected.

"Don't mind me, carry on," she stated sarcastically, heavily sitting between Gerry and Jack on the large white sofa.

"We weren't…" the younger man trailed off. "I've made you some pasta."

"Thanks," she said, picking up the warm bowl and beginning to eat, although she quickly stopped.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just not really hungry. Sorry."

"Never mind, just take your time." He paused as she looked at him directly for the first time since they left the Eldridge's, her eyes still a more intense shade of blue than usual, emphasised by her earlier tears. "We're here for you Sandra, whether you need us or not."

"I know. Thank you. All of you."

Again, a silence descended upon the room, yet this time it was less uncomfortable. They had established that she had perked up somewhat, which was the best they could have hoped for under the circumstances.

"Please tell me you didn't know about this?" she gazed around all of their faces before resting on Jack's.

"No, I didn't. Honestly. If I did, I would have told you two years ago, when you first found out about the affair."

She nodded, trusting him.

"I didn't either," Brian added.

Gerry nodded. "Me neither. No offence Sandra, we all knew your dad was a prick, none of us knew he'd gone this far. None of us thought he could do that to you, and your mum."

"He was still my dad though. You know, I was just starting to get over the affair and the suicide, and then…this. Is it bad that I'm not even surprised? I'm just…I don't know. I just presume the worst, now, when it comes to him. He's probably got kids up and down the country, for all I know."

Jack took her hand. "Sandra, listen to me. I knew your dad, and I've thought about what happened every day since. If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that he was a good man. All the memories you've got of him, they're still real, they still happened. He loved you, and he loved your mum. I think he just got caught up in something that he shouldn't have. This sounds clichéd, but it was the seventies, and we were young and stupid, and to some extent, we all did things that we probably shouldn't have. I'm not trying to defend him, I'm just saying that you shouldn't let his mistakes cast a shadow over your life. Everything he did towards the end was to protect you, and he wouldn't have wanted you feeling like this."

Fresh tears poured from her eyes, only to be brushed away almost immediately as she nodded in response to Jack's words.

"You're right. It's just going to take me a while to get over it, and…I know this sounds awful, but I don't think I can let Tom into my life. I've lived for over fifty years without any siblings, and I don't need him. He just symbolises everything that my dad did wrong, and I just can't deal with that right now. I don't know if I'll ever be able to."

"Don't worry about it, it's only natural." Gerry reassured her, taking hold of her other hand. "Like I said, it's going to take some getting used to, so take as long as you need. We're here, if you need us."

"Thank you. I'm not taking any time off work though. I need to keep myself busy."

"Good, because we don't cope very well when you're not there. Or I don't, anyway." Brian admitted.

She smiled at him slightly, for the first time in what felt like forever. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I can't promise that I'll be my normal self, but I'll try my best."

"We're not asking for anything else."

"Good. Now piss off, I want to be on my own." She said, mock-harshly, her mouth curving gently as she looked around the chuckling faces of her boys. They knew where to draw the line between supporting her and letting her figure things out by herself, and for that, she was grateful.

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

"Bright and early."

She watched as they left, watching as Jack's silver car pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the quiet street. She always had her boys, and she would be damned if she let this affect them, too.

She would not be as selfish as her father. She would be alright, this time.


End file.
